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"Nice work, Ronald. I never thought you could do things like that."
Prince Liam complemented the blue-eyed blonde-haired young man sitting opposite to him in his loft inside the academy.
"It is an honor to serve you, your Highness. I, Ronald Morgan, would be prouder and prouder the more you rely on me. I always know my way around problems." Replied Ronald in complete cockiness despite his humble words.
"And you are smart. Let's not forget that. Sadly, you hang around us less than you should." The Prince boosted Ronald's image in front of the others.
"I terribly apologize since I am always lost in my studies, your Highness. But House Morgan is forever loyal and knows how to handle any trouble for the future of Great Elgard." Ronald said while glancing at Edmond Black, Ian Grayson, and Richard Marshall, who were all standing by.
The Morgans, quite the dreadful family. As one of the four founding clans of Elgard —along with the Blacks and the Graysons—, the Royal House of Harland has always valued the counsel and wisdom of the Morgans more than anyone else. Still, the Morgans may be more powerful than the Blacks and the Graysons combined.
They are the private tutors of the Royal Family and the House of Magic and Oracles. Their wisdom is recorded through the annals of Elgard as the advocates of the nation against the unfathomable evils and arcane powers.
The Harlands sit on the Throne (Rulers), the Graysons stand on the Right to the Throne (Advisors), the Blacks sit on the Left (Intelligence), while the Morgans stand behind it at its shoulder (Wizards). The remaining ones are the Marshalls (Military), the Moores (Industry), and the De Clares (Commerce) who carry the thrones on their backs.
This is how this whole Great Elgard was portrayed.
The meaning of this is that on top of being a founding house, House Morgan's value outweighs many just by the importance of their work. In addition to their profession in Magic, they manage the educational institutes of Elgard.
This influence is what gave Ronald Morgan the ability to influence the inner workings of the academy to some extent. Something that even the Crown Prince can't achieve and through it, he made some changes on Vivian's student files.
It was all due to the bizarre request made by the Prince about "teaching the Moore's daughter the reach of the Royal family."
Prince Liam didn't ask for anything specific from Ronald but as soon as the Finals' letters started going out, the Prince got wind of what changed and it pleased him greatly.
From what it seemed, Ronald Morgan has added all the Additional Courses a Lady like Vivian Moore would take and made it look believable by not adding any subject that is Magic or Combat-related. If his work was careless, many would speak out that some tampering had happened.
After carefully filling her Additional Courses, he even added Vivian's Name in the Musical Performance, which is a very limited spot in the Finals as it was sought after by many students. This was for the purpose of serving not only difficulties in front of the unruly daughter of the Moores but also as another round of public embarrassment.
Ronald couldn't have changed the Major itself for Vivian since her studies were known and it was mandatory to attend their classes, else he would have thrown her in the Alchemy Major which was somehow popular among female students who wished to learn Medicine. Still, that was impossible.
Another thing he could do was to remove Vivian's original Additional Courses which would be a low blow but she was also known to attend those certain classes.
Of course there is no sane student who would pick 8 Additional Courses besides their Major studies but Vivian is still shunned in the High Society and no matter how much she protests, her pleas will go unheard, especially with only 3 days left for the exams.
The Musical Contest thingy was also added with the fact that Vivian is a High Society outcast in mind. Each musical performance must be done with at least two instruments, meaning that the minimum requirement is two students on instruments, or as ridiculous as it sounds, one student playing two instruments at the same time.
For that, surely no student from the First Academy would associate themselves with Vivian. And if Vivian decides not to show up, she will be severely punished. This will leave her alone on the stage with no excuse for being there to begin with and the rest can be foreseen just from this point onward.
Ronald Morgan was simply a problem solver for the Prince and if this can't solve Vivian Moore, nothing else will. While only Prince Liam and Edmond Black were aware of his actions, Ian Grayson and Richard Marshall were expecting that something had been done about Vivian's status as a student.
Knock Knock Knock
"Come in."
"Good evening, my Prince."
But in this shady situation, the ever-so-bright Matilda Ambrose walked into the room with a number of books in her arms.
"Matilda!" The Prince jumped off his seat and took three big steps toward her, "Why are you carrying so many books?"
He immediately took a big chunk of the books she was carrying so effortlessly and she looked completely panicked.
"Your Highness!" Richard Marshall hurried up like the prince's shadow and took the books he carried before putting them on a table then turning to Matilda and taking the remaining books from her.
It was unbefitting of a member of the Royal Family to assist anyone lower to him in class in any physical labor and it was strictly against the traditions. That's why Matilda was on the brink of panicking.
But knowing the Prince, he was not a big fan of traditions and hardly paid attention to them. He was always indifferent to those fossilized traditions everyone was so crazy about.
"I greatly apologize, my Prince." Matilda replied, "I only brought a few musical notes and textbooks for the final reviews. The Musical Performance we will take part in together."
"Oh!" The Prince seemed to have forgotten about this.
It seemed that his late beef with Vivian, especially after ruining his garden surprise, had put him off mood that he forgot about this important event.
On the other hand, Matilda looked around the room and saw more faces than usual.
"Miss Matilda." Ian Grayson greeted Matilda first.
"Lord Ian, I am honored to be in your presence." Matilda bowed.
"The honor is all mine, Miss Matilda. No need for formalities." Ian said and put on a warm smile.
She then turned around to greet the other unusual face.
"Lord Ronald." She bowed, "I feel like I intruded on such bad timing. I should take my leave and…"
"NO!"
All of a sudden, it was Ronald Morgan who reacted strangely. It was as if he was yelling but he was red-faced and unable to look Matilda in the eye.
"Miss… Matilda." He spoke with a slight stutter, "I was just leaving… if His Highness excuses me, of course."
"It's alright, Ronald. You have done well today. We'll see each other some other time." The Prince dismissed him.
Ronald then bowed to the Prince and on his way out, he said his goodbyes only to Matilda.
"Let me walk you out, Ronald." Ian Grayson said and asked permission to leave before getting dismissed as well.
Watching Ronald leave, Richard Marshall snorted slightly as he stood beside Edmond Black.
"He's still a mess around women." Richard said, "I guess that's what happens when you lock yourself in a magic study all day long."
Edmond Black looked at Richard with lazy eyes and didn't comment. Of all the people in the room and second to the Prince, only Edmond was aware of Ronald's true nature.
Outside the room, Ian Grayson and Ronald Morgan walked together.
"Ready for the Finals, Morgan?" Ian asked.
"As ready as you are, Grayson." Ronald replied but he looked back towards the door of the loft he just left, "Does Miss Matilda frequently come to visit His Highness?"
"Huh?" Ian Grayson narrowed his eyes before remembering how extensively Ronald locks himself in his study, "They are more than friends as far as I am aware and hopefully, we will get ourselves a decent Queen."
"The Prince with a Commoner? Did the High Society run out of ladies?" Ronald asked.
"Careful, Morgan. Vivian Moore said those words and she is now getting the cold treatment. Also, there are things you aren't meant to know." Ian said before turning away.
"Don't bother too much with what I say, Grayson." Ronald replied and made a sly face, "You know how hard it is for me to keep my thoughts to myself."
"Whatever you say, just be careful." Ian gave one final warning before asking, "Will Beatrix attend this year's exams?"
"Why are you asking?" Ronald narrowed his eyes with obvious hostility towards Ian's question.
"Because I am her fiance and she never attended a single day in the academy from the start of the year. I was hoping to see her."
"Ah, right! Fiance…" Ronald recalled that Ian is his sister's fiance, Beatrix Morgan, "She is just officially a first year but actually, she may have finished the three years by now if she wanted to. She'll attend… I guess. Don't expect much, though. She hardly has an eye for anything that doesn't have a cover and pages."
"Like you, you mean?" Ian retorted with a mocking smile, "Rumor is, you still get flustered around girls and…"
"Hey!"
As Ian was about to run his mouth with Ronald, the latter reacted badly. It seemed that the subject of girls was still sensitive to him.
For someone who spends a day in a study, it is strange how Ronald Morgan is still fine without interacting with girls of his age group. That's why he was known to be very shy as if he was forced into a social experiment to produce someone with no knowledge about talking with women.
From this conversation, they may seem like two friends chatting but just like the rest of the High Society, the two weren't good friends in any way, shape, or form. However, the reason behind Ian's fake concern is his tendency to keep everyone in check since he wasn't a fan of the unexpected.
Ian Grayson and Ronald Morgan, if Vivian was to see them, she would recall them as two of the game's Capture Targets.
Ian Grayson is the son of Elgard's prime minister Count Alister Grayson, a petite 16-year-old young man with steel eyes and gray hair, the trait of House Grayson. They served Elgard for hundreds of years and their house is a founding house. Their influence is vast in both managing the Diplomatic Affairs of the nation and its military supplies. On top of that, they are sworn enemies with House Moore.
As for Ronald Morgan, he is the grandson of Benedict Morgan, the Chief Court Wizard of Elgard, the son of Albert Morgan, the current Provost of the Royal Academy, and the youngest member of The Arcane Order that accepted him thanks to his magic fabricative-aptitude. His house is famous for producing talented Wizards.
Both Ian Grayson and Ronald Morgan were related to a single Villainess in the game. That was Beatrix Morgan, Ronald's sister, and Ian's fianceé. Little is known about Beatrix in the High Society since she is a magic nerd who spends most of her time studying spells and shows no interest in her relationship with Ian, which makes him the easiest route to pick. Ronald's route, on the other hand, is literal hell for reasons that are too traumatizing to seek knowledge of.
This completes the appearance of the whole group of capture targets.
Ian Grayson and Ronald Morgan, first-year capture targets. Robert Moore and Richard Marshall, second-year capture targets. Prince Liam Harland and Valentine De Clare, third-year capture targets. Last but not least is Edmond Black, the only capture target in the postgraduate diploma for the sake of sticking around the prince.
The Heroine may have gone through the Prince Route but it was not completed until the spring festival's graduation ceremony as far as Vivian is aware. Vivian may have been busy fending off against the fate being pushed at her but she will soon find herself against the coalition of the male leads. That and a secret 8th capture target from a DLC she hasn't played.
And with the trick that Ronald Morgan used against her, she is bound to be busier than ever.
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Please show some Love ❤️, Comment 💬, and Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
You can also read the early chapters on P🅰️treon & Join Discord! 🔗 https://linktr.ee/donovel